how long did it take you to make a QUALITY knife?

T

Theiskell

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Nov 12, 2013
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The title says it all. When I was learning to play guitar i asked an older gentlemen "whats the hardest thing about playing" he said "the first 10 years" that was true for me. So I am just curious what the learning curve is in knife making. I understand someones back ground will affect the curve thats why I said how long did it take "you"
 
There is a sub forum on BF called "General Knife Maker's Discussion". Take a look at what's discussed there. It's vast. Like any skill it takes time to develop.
 
made a good knife quickly but it was ugly. i think i could go with Karl on this tho and say 5-8 years (BTW i still strive for learnign new tricks and styles to do wel )
 
I'm a year in. I'll let you know when I get there. In Psychology, the number of hours at a task to become an expert is 10,000. I make a functional knife with good heat treat, good geometry, but fit and finish has a long way to go.
 
My first knife is well finished but ugly as hell. I still use it every day. It's my shop knife, and sails through whatever I want it to. ATS-34 blade, tsukamaki handle with stingray. Peters heat treat. It has alot of the quality of what I'm making today, It's just kinda ugly...lol.

I guess a better question for me is, how long does it take to develop skill sets to make the knives you really want, and to develop your own style. I'm still getting there. I do see my work evolving all the time.

As far as quality? The first blade I ever made is of excellent quality as a tool, and is very presentable in fit and finish
 
My first quality knife came after a couple of months. To be honest, I was shocked at how good it was. There were two sides to that knife. On the one hand, I really wanted to keep it for myself, since it was my best work. On the other hand, it was being raffled off for a kid who lost all his rodeo gear when his house burned down. Obviously, we know which was more important.
 
With the resources available today there is no reason your first knife should not be a quality knife in use, and fit and finish. Be your own brutal QA inspector. Are the plunge lines even top and bottom. Is the blade centered? Are all, (ALL!) the scratches out before you move to the next grit? If not fix it before you move on. Can you see sunlight between the ricasso shoulders and the guard? Then you aint done. A little gap between the handle and the guard? Fix it before you move on.
Sick of working on it, and just want to be finished with it? Then admit it to yourself, knowing that you could've done better, and will on the next one. You get better quickly. To get as good as good as Mr. Anderson did in 8 years I'm going to have to have a few bonus years added onto the end of my time here.
 
It took me 300 knives, but its never taken an apprenrice more than 20. That goes to show the value of a hands on teacher. Even a bad one.
 
My first knife was of high quality, but obviously quite different than what I make now.

If someone has the time, desire and skill, I think the average person can make a "decent" knife within a reasonable amount of time.
 
I think you all have hit on good points in my opinion. A quality knife can be made quickly however a work of art may take some forever. I am still searching for the work of art:)
 
I think I should clarify one thing. A work of art does not need to be elaborate or engraved. Simple can be beautiful if it flows and is well done.
 
It depends a lot on your previous experience. If you have significant time in any trade or career with relatable skills, they can make a huge difference in your learning curve. As a specific example, I hand ground pre-hardened tool bits on grinders and belt sanders for a good 15 years before I made my first knife, and I feel it made a huge difference in my starting grind quality.

I used to build and repair musical instruments as a hobby a while back, and that really helped me with handles, but I still had to learn the forms that are specific to knifemaking.

Something I hadn't done before, like fitting and seating guards, I had to learn a bit more the hard way, but my previous experience still helped.
 
HallHandmade said:
It depends a lot on your previous experience. If you have significant time in any trade or career with relatable skills, they can make a huge difference in your learning curve. As a specific example, I hand ground pre-hardened tool bits on grinders and belt sanders for a good 15 years before I made my first knife, and I feel it made a huge difference in my starting grind quality.

I used to build and repair musical instruments as a hobby a while back, and that really helped me with handles, but I still had to learn the forms that are specific to knifemaking.

Something I hadn't done before, like fitting and seating guards, I had to learn a bit more the hard way, but my previous experience still helped.
Click to expand...

That is a good point! For me it was machining and working with guns, both require attention to detail.
 
It also has to do with the standard you put up for yourself.
Your fourth knife can be higher quality as someone else's 100th knife you strive for high quality and the other is ok with mediocre quality.
Also what is quality? Someone might say perfect fit and finish, the other might say just sharp as hell and not expensive.
You might enjoy making three knives a year and put in 200hrs+ each. Someone else might prefer to make 150 knives a year. They'll be quite different.
 
It took me 4 or 5 years. I actually made a good sword Before I made a good knife, just because I focused on swords from year 2, 3, and 4.

I want to kindly disagree with the idea that your first or 10th should be a really good knife. Sure, it is possible, but for most everyone there will be a learning period where one trains their eyes to see good work. Then, the brain and hands have to be trained to produce this good work that they have inside their heads. Learn to see it, learn to imagine it yourself, then learn to make it. All complex tasks follow this pattern (from making love to making knives... just don't make love to knives).

Still, the first 2 or 3 knives I ever made cut a whole lot better than the factory knives I was using to clean deer and fish before I made these knives. But, oh man, were they UGLY. So, to me, good includes some level of artistry in form, fit, and finish. Yes, a brute de forge with a self-handle or a cord handle can be beautiful and artistic.

just my thoughts,

kc
 
I know what experienced makers like Stacy, mean when they say things like "50+ years and still working on it."... but I also know that they don't consider all the previous pieces they've made to be inferior. It is the cliche thing to say... but valuable in emphasizing the idea a "never ending journey".

It took me about a year of "making and breaking" to understand and be satisfied with my heat heat. I came from a tool, die and mold background, so I had decent idea of what good fit and finish was. At the risk sounding arrogant, what I felt was quality 7 years ago isn't far off, today. You gain "tools" and add facets to your skill-set with experience but good craftsmanship will shine through, in even the simplest of designs. However, while I don't see it being "impossible" to make a quality knife from the start... it's just not the norm.
 
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When I started making knives the progression was exciting so it kept me going. A lot of
my early knives looked like the chopper, that was in the late 1970"s. Here's the kicker-
I made both of these knives this year, just for different purposes.
Ken.
 
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